[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by matt.hintsa via Flickr"][/caption] Out with the new, in with the old. After years of seemingly inevitable decline in the face of competition from jets, turboprops are making a comeback as oil prices remain high. ATR, a turboprop manufacturer partly owned by Airbus parent EADS, received firm orders for 157…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by wolfstad via Flickr"][/caption] Nine endangered whooping cranes, migrating from Wisconsin to Florida, recently spent a month grounded in Alabama, after the FAA decided that their “pilot guides” were operating in violation of a regulation which prohibits them from receiving pay for their services. The pilots, who work for Operation…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Image by Getty Images via @daylife"][/caption] Brad Hall “designs systems for improving workforce performance”. Brad Hall has a PhD industrial-organizational psychology. Brad Hall knows that U.S airlines have awful customer service. And Brad Hall knows why- unions. It is a foregone conclusion for Dr. Hall; one he is unwilling to let…
We don’t agree with most of what Senator Rand Paul stands for, but we agree wholeheartedly with his stand for liberty and personal freedom this morning in Nashville. It is being reported that Paul, the son of Texas congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, refused an “enhanced pat-down” by TSA agents after setting off…
A short time ago, we reported that the TSA had detained Senator Rand Paul this morning. The Hill is now reportingthat the TSA is denying that Senator Paul was detained, saying rather that he was escorted from the secure area and not allowed to board his flight. “When an irregularity is found during the TSA…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Image by Getty Images via @daylife"][/caption] Angeline O’Grady wants to know what happened to her husband. On November 1, she was traveling through Philadelphia International Airport with the ashes of her late husband, Brian. She was told by TSA agents that she could not bring the ashes through security with her.…
All was normal aboard American Airlines Flight 980 from Brazil to Miami. Then, two hours into the eight hour flight, with food service underway, the plane suddenly lurched violently. The unexpected turbulencesent a food cart flying, damaging the ceiling and landing on and injuring a flight attendant. In all, six members of the flight crew…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Image by Getty Images via @daylife"][/caption] After his son, Senator Rand Paul, was detained and denied boarding for refusing an invasive pat-down, Representative Ron Paul issued a sharply-worded statement promising to eliminate the TSA should he be elected President “The police state in this country is growing out of control,” the…
43 year old Adam Blumenkranz of Los Angeles was arrested at Newark’s Liberty Airport Monday after he was discovered smoking marijuana in airport restroom on JetBlue flight 510 from Fort Lauderdale to Newark. Blumenkranz, who was somehow unaware that smoking of any kind is prohibited on aircraft, tried to show his medicinal marijuana card to…
For the second time in a week, the Earth has been hit by a coronal mass ejectionin the most severe solar storm since 2003. The increased radiation from the charged particles of the storm which can interfere with communications is strongest near the poles where the ozone layer is thinnest. The additional radiation poses little…
The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is the 22nd busiest in the United States- and it’s about to get busier. On Monday, a ground-breaking ceremony was heldat the airport, marking the beginning of a $791 million runway expansion project. A princely sum, indeed, but the project which will lengthen an existing secondary runway from 5,276 to…
Having never flown Alaska Airlines, it was news to us that for 30 years, together with their meals, the airline has distributed prayer cards featuring serene color pictures and verses from the Book of Psalms. Now we’ll never have a chance to get one, as the airline announced that it will stop distributing the cards…
[caption id="attachment_1703" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Interior of Virgin America A320"][/caption] A few weeks ago, we commented on the ban on portable electronics. The truth is, in terms of the FAA’s stated rationale, there is little evidence presented that indicates the majority of electronics have any effect on aircraft systems. But, the other reason, the one not…
We’ve long been fans of Kayak.com, though we have to admit that as of late, increased clutter and unreliability or lack of JetBlue results have had us using the site less often. Like most comparison sites, Kayak uses ITA software’s technology. ITA was purchased by Google last year, amid much fear that Google would use…
We were disturbed by reports today that two British travelers were questioned, detained, and deported by the Department of Homeland Security, allegedly because of two tweets. Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting say they were questioned for hours, detained, placed in a cell with violent criminals who stole their food, and finally sent back to…